New Members
by shrakeake808
Summary: The cluster has been defeated and things have been slow for the Crystal Gems, but they are still on high alert for any new obstacles. But, the obstacle that comes up for them next definitely is not anything that any of them expected to happen, except maybe one. !*Not following canon story line as of Too Far*!
1. The Revelation

Garnet had not been around. No, but that is not to say her components were not around. Ruby and Sapphire certainly were, and were not fighting with each other. They did not explain why they were unfused, though Peridot liked to think (and she was good at verbalizing her opinions, too) that they were unfused for her, which drove Ruby up the wall as that was NOT the reason they were unfused. Like she would unfuse just because some Homeworld Gem told her to! She had yet to blow up on her, though, that being due to Sapphire managing to calm her down. While they had not told anyone yet, they were close to. Steven would not stop bugging, but it was not just that. They knew they could not keep their secret forever…

Ruby and Sapphire had gathered everyone in the living room to make an announcement, standing towards the front of the room while the others were seated. Ruby was fumbling with herself, hand tightly gripping Sapphire's in a desperate attempt to stay calm. That would not be easy for her. She was rarely 'calm', especially in a situation like this. Amethyst and Steven quieted down, as the two had been talking about what this could be about, before Pearl shushed them, telling them to just listen. The room was still silent for a few moments after that, Ruby opening her mouth to speak a few times, but nothing came out. But then, Sapphire spoke.

"I'm pregnant." The words cut through the air like ice, chilling everyone. Except for Steven, who at first looked happy, about to speak, but realized the silence and surprised looks from everyone quickly after. His own expression was replaced with one of confusion.

It was rare, to say the least, for gems to get pregnant. That was the main reason Kindergartens were developed, because natural reproduction occurred so rarely in gems. Pearl was the first to regain herself, putting on a smile. She was still surprised, but was genuinely happy for them as well.

"That's.. Great!" She said, looking at the two of them before glancing at the others. Amethyst was quick to nod along, "Yeah, congrats!" She smiled at them.

Steven, again, looked happy, opening his mouth to congratulate them as well, before an awful thought crossed his mind. His eyes widened and he gasped, "You're not going to disappear like mom did.. Are you?" He asked, looking very concerned.

Sapphire was quick to go comfort him, shaking her head. She already knew the question was coming before he could ask it, anyway. "No, no, Steven. It's.. Different when two gems have a baby, I'm not going anywhere." She told him, embracing the boy.

Steven held back onto her, giving a small nod as he looked up at her. "Okay.." He murmured, letting go after a moment, then smiling a bit at her. "I'm happy for you, then!" He told her, and she smiled slightly back.

"Thank you, Steven." She said and moved back to stand with Ruby, her hand being tightly clasped by the red gem's again. She gestured lightly to Pearl and Amethyst then. "Thank you too." She added, not wanting to be rude.

Peridot though was still silent, looking surprised still. In fact her expression had not changed much. She realized most of them were looking at her, though, and blinked, snapping out of it. Trying to copy how they responded, she uncertainly said, "Uh, congratulations..?" A bit awkwardly. Despite not liking her very much, Sapphire thanked her too.


	2. Tickle Fight

Sapphire was beginning to get a tad bored with not being able to go out on missions. Ruby was too concerned about her and the babies to allow her to go on mission when she was _first_ pregnant, but now being 4 months pregnant, there was no way the others would let her go on a mission and she was quite antsy having to wait here so long, by herself most of the time. She did not usually go into her room in the temple, opting to stay out on the couch instead. It was a lot more comfortable (and warmer) than anything her room had. Steven had even offered for her to use his bed and he could take the couch, which she thought was incredibly sweet, but she declined. The couch was fine. Though, she did gather up most of the blankets in the house to create a nest of sorts…

The blue gem had ended up falling asleep on the couch, food wrappers from something she'd been eating earlier lazily discarded on the table in front of her; usually she did not sleep and rarely did she eat, but both of those organic activities she needed to support the gemlings. She was roused from her slumber by the sound of the activating warp pad, though, squinting a bit as the first thing she saw when awaking was the bright light of the pad. A small smile came to her lips as she sat up more, her partner rushing over to greet her first thing.

"Sapphire! I'm sorry we took so long.. Are you alright?" Ruby asked, sitting next to her love. She asked this, or some different phrasing of this, nearly every time she returned. Not that Sapphire minded, though. She thought it was cute.

Sapphire pulled Ruby closer to her and leaned against her lightly, Ruby's arms wrapping around her as well. "It's okay, and yes I'm fine." She gave a small smile. "How did your mission go?" She inquired, not stopping Ruby when she pushed her bangs out of her face. She had been doing that a lot more lately, but Sapphire did not mind. She felt one of Ruby's hands travel to her stomach, rubbing it gently.

"How pregnant are you again? You're already so big!" Ruby chuckled a bit, of course she did not forget though. Sapphire's stomach was bigger than a human's would be at this time, but not all that much.

"4 months, darling, you know that." Sapphire giggled a bit when she realized Ruby was feeling the geodes in her stomach- or trying to, more like. She giggled a bit more pushing at her arm gently, "Stop it, that tickles.." She said. Ruby knew she was very ticklish in most places, something Sapphire hated. Ruby did not take advantage of this most, but… The red gem grinned as she moved her hands to Sapphire's sides, beginning to tickle her. Sapphire's eye widened before squeezing shut as she began to laugh, kicking her legs and trying to shove Ruby away from her. Sadly, her physical strength was no match for Ruby's.

"S-Stop! Seriously!" Sapphire cried through her laughter as Ruby continued to mercilessly tickle her, grinning from ear to ear.

Ruby started peppering Sapphire's face with kisses, chanting, "Laughy Sapphy Laughy Sapphy~"

"Stop it! You're gonna make me pee!" Sapphire tried to warn, though she was fairly certain she had enough control over her bladder to not pee. Maybe. Well, if it made Ruby stop, maybe she would have to… Luckily, Ruby stopped tickling her before she had to resort to that. The red gem laughed herself and hugged onto Sapphire, wrapping her legs around her too. She was still careful of her stomach, of course.

Sapphire panted, trying to catch her breath even though she did not need to breathe. Her face was flushed and her hair was a mess from her useless flailing. She shot a glare at Ruby once she regained herself, but it was half hearted, and it did not stop Ruby from grinning up at her, chin resting on Sapphire's chest like a puppy.

"Oh come on, you love me~" Ruby cooed, and that was enough to make Sapphire lose her glare and give a huff of laughter, shoving at Ruby's shoulder a bit.

"You're right… I don't know why, though." She teased, smirking slightly as she cupped her cheek and kissed her gently on the lips. When she pulled away, Ruby grinned more, now blushing a bit herself.

Ruby hugged Sapphire tighter then, squishing her cheek against her chest. It was a bit too tight of a hug, though, and Sapphire squirmed a bit, saying, "Ruby, too tight."

"Oh! Sorry!" Ruby immediately let go of her, "I didn't hurt you, right? Sorry." She frowned.

Sapphire looked up at her, faking a look of hurt. "A little…" She murmured, and waited for Ruby to get closer to her, sputtering apologies, before grinning herself and reaching up quickly. Her hands buried themselves in Ruby's armpits, starting to tickle her as an act of revenge. She knew her armpits were the only place Ruby was ticklish.

Ruby burst into loud laughter instantly, eyes squinting shut from her big smile. "S-Sapphire st-stop that!" She howled, trying to push her arms down so Sapphire would stop, which she did not. "Se-Seriously stop o-or I might actually hurt you!" Ruby exclaimed. She hated being tickled just as much as Sapphire, and she did not want to end up kicking her or hitting her or something.

Sapphire was not put off, grinning still as she continued to tickle her. "You won't~ Not yet." Sapphire hummed, knowing thanks to her future vision. Ruby just kept laughing, shaking her head and lightly pushing at Sapphire.

"I will! C-C'mon!" Ruby begged, the words coming out as a desperate whine. Sapphire continued only for a few more seconds, before stopping. Ruby panted just as she had, a hand gripping her own chest harshly, and over dramatically. Ruby scooted herself away from Sapphire, pouting like a child. Sapphire giggled at this.

Sapphire scooted closer to her, "Oh, I can't do it to you but you can do it to me?" She got a small nod in return, and Sapphire rolled her eye. "Oh Ruby…~" She kissed her cheek, before returning to her nest of blankets like before Ruby had came. If it were not for the small smile tugging at her lips, she would have looked perhaps angry. It was not long before Ruby wrapped her arms around her again, looking at her.

"Okay, fine.. I forgive you." Ruby huffed softly, and Sapphire kissed her cheek gently.

"I knew you would." Sapphire responded, and opened her arms for a proper hug, which Ruby returned quickly, with a kiss, too.

The red gem smiled a bit then, head resting on Sapphire's shoulder. "I love you.." She said, not having to look up at her to know she must be smiling again, which she was.

"I love you too." Sapphire said, starting to run her gloved fingers through Ruby's unruly hair, her other arm still around her.

A soft sigh came from Ruby, whose eyes were shut in tranquility. "It's so nice just being able to spend time with you like this… Hmm… You know, we should go on one of those human 'dates'." Ruby suggested, looking up at Sapphire with a small grin now.

Sapphire looked down at her, tilting her head slightly in a bit of confusion. "A date? Why would we need to do that?" They already spent time with each other whenever they could and lived with each other, she did not understand why they would need to go on a date.

Ruby looked a little dejected. "Well.. I don't know, it would be nice to do something special. I guess you're right though, we don't really need to do that…" She mumbled, looking down now. She was a bit more than 'a little' dejected.

Sapphire frowned. She had not meant to make her so upset, she just did not see the point. "No, I think it's a good idea. I'm sorry… I'd love to go on a date with you." She tried, her gemmed hand finding Ruby's gemmed hand, holding it gently, interlacing their fingers.

Ruby looked back up at her, smiling now. She sat up, holding her hand still, and kissed her on the lips. "Alright… We can go on it tomorrow!" She was already thinking up ideas for their date… She also contemplated consulting Steven about this, too. She would make sure this would be the best date ever!


	3. Date Night

/TW: use of the slur d*ke (once).

Ruby was sitting out on the beach with Steven, getting advice for her and Sapphire's date from him. She knew the basics, but she wanted to make sure everything went down perfectly. She did feel bad for leaving Sapphire by herself, though, even if she had been assured by Sapphire that she would be fine. Ruby was also pretty sure Pearl was in there with her.

"You two should both wear fancy clothes!" Steven instructed suddenly, knocking Ruby out of her thoughts he pulled a magazine out of seemingly nowhere. He moved to sit next to Ruby, flipping through the pages of the fashion magazine. Ruby briefly wondered where he got it, but said nothing. "Liiike... You could wear this!" He smiled, pointing to a short red dress. It was sparkly and strapless, stopping about where her shorts did. It had a darker red sash around the middle, and Ruby blushed.

"O-Oh uh… I'm not sure about that Steven." She said and rubbed the back of her neck, averting her eyes.

Steven looked disappointed, "Why not? You'd look good in that! What would you wear instead?" He asked, pouting a bit though.

"I could wear um.. Like a tux or something…" Ruby murmured, shrugging.

"Aw that's so boring!" Steven exclaimed, "Can't you just shapeshift this dress on so I can see how it looks now, at least?" He asked giving his best pleading expression. Ruby couldn't say no to that face… It looked like Steven knew that, too, by the way his eyes lit up when she sighed.

"Fine…" She grumbled, and in a flash of light her usual outfit was replaced by the dress in the picture. She blushed more, it felt so weird wearing this. She was not used to wearing such feminine clothes, or fancy clothes for that matter. She figured she would feel just as odd in a tux.

Steven grinned, "Oh you look great! Why not wear that? Come ooon!" He begged, still smiling. Ruby shifted awkwardly.

"I.. Guess it won't hurt for one night or whatever…" She muttered, still avoiding eye contact. She was yet again engulfed in white as she reformed her old outfit on.

Steven looked quite pleased with himself that he got her to agree. "Okay! So now onto where to eat…" He continued, setting the magazine down now.

Hours later, Ruby was prepared for her date. She was almost certain she was, anyway, even if she was pretty nervous. She was wearing that red dress again, along with a black headband and flats. She would not go as far as to accept wearing heels. She hoped Steven had remembered to talk to Sapphire about dressing up like he said he would, otherwise she would feel really stupid if she went to Sapphire wearing this. She already felt stupid enough.. She drew in a breath, brows furrowed as she opened the door to her room, gem glowing as she did. She stepped out of the temple, then, looking for Sapphire on the couch which was where she assumed she would be, as that was where she was when she was out here about 10 minutes ago. And probably most of the day, too. She saw Sapphire standing near the door to the house, instead, and blushed more. Sapphire certainly had dressed up, and she looked _really_ good. She was wearing a long blue dress, with elbow length sleeves. It was fit to her figure nicely, until it got towards the end. The side of the bottom was open until about her mid thigh.

Ruby walked over to her, blushing like mad still, before she smiled up at her… Up at her? Since when did she have to look up at Sapphire? It wasn't that much, but it was noticeable… 'She must be wearing heels…' Ruby thought to herself, before being snapped out of her thoughts by a small giggle from Sapphire. Ruby's face went darker.

"Why are you laughing at me?!" Ruby shouted suddenly, before blushing even more if that was possible. "I-I mean.. Uh… I'm sorry…" She mumbled, feeling so embarrassed. Why was she so flustered, it wasn't like they were a new couple! They had been together for thousands of years! They had never gone on a date before, though. They didn't like to unfuse, but now they had to, so, it _was_ the best opportunity to do something like this.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you…" Sapphire apologized. She hugged Ruby and gently kissed her cheek. "You look really nice." She complemented with a small smile, pulling away.

Ruby looked up at her, getting over herself as her face started to go back to its normal color. " _I_ look nice? Have you seen yourself?" Ruby asked and chuckled a bit, smiling at her.

Sapphire giggled a bit more and smiled slightly wider, extending her hand to Ruby. "Oh, stop. Come on, we should go, we have reservations remember." Sapphire pointed out. Ruby nodded, mumbling something as she was pulled out of the house. They were not going anywhere extremely fancy, but it was nicer than Fish Stew Pizza; which Steven had originally wanted them to go to, but luckily Ruby avoided that for them. They had to walk, though, (well, Steven had said he could get Greg to drive them, but Ruby declined that saying they could walk) but it shouldn't take too long to get there. And if they really needed it, Sapphire always had her super speed.

After about 15 minutes of walking and conversation, they arrived at the restaurant. They were seated after Ruby explained they had reservations, and Ruby quickly pulled Sapphire's chair out for her before she could do it herself, grinning slightly. Sapphire smiled at her, sitting down. "Thank you, Ruby." She said and Ruby pushed her chair back in, making sure she didn't squish her against the table though.

Ruby took a seat herself then, smiling still. "No problem." She hummed as their menus were set down. The waitress took their drink orders before going off, leaving Ruby and Sapphire by themselves.

Ruby shifted a bit in her seat, trying to think of something to talk about. She opened her mouth to speak, pausing though when she heard snickers from a nearby table. She looked over from where the source came from. A table of teenage boys. She saw one of them look away from their direction quickly when he caught her looking over at them. She furrowed her brows, puffing her cheeks out a bit.

"What the hell are they laughing at?" Ruby muttered, Sapphire frowning in response. The blue gem reached over and gently laid her hand on Ruby's arm in hopes of calming her some. She felt Ruby was rather hot, and held in a sigh.

"Ruby, calm down. Just ignore them, I'm sure they weren't looking at us. Even if they were, it doesn't matter." She spoke slowly, which Ruby only huffed.

"Yeah whatever…" Ruby grumbled, slouching forward a bit. She was tempted to move her arm away from Sapphire's touch, being stubborn, but she reluctantly left it there.

Sapphire sighed and moved her hand away on her own, picking up her menu to look through it. She knew she could just use her future vision, but she wanted the distraction. "Come on Ruby, why don't you look at your menu?" Sapphire urged her gently, and Ruby grumbled more but picked up her menu, looking through it.

Sapphire continued to look through her own menu, glad that Ruby had been distracted by that it seemed, before she heard something from that same table which gained her attention. More condescending laughter, and she was dead positive she had heard the phrase, 'fat dyke'. By the way Ruby tensed, she heard it too. Her face was hidden by the menu, though. Was she… Shaking? Sapphire frowned more, reaching over to rub Ruby's arm gently.

"Ruby..? Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly, and heard a sniffle from Ruby. She was crying! Sapphire's eye narrowed and she stood up, walking over to Ruby first. "Ruby, Ruby what's wrong?" She asked softly, bending down a bit to wrap her arms around her.

"N-Nothin'..." Ruby sniffled more, blinking a few times to burn away her tears. Sapphire's grip tightened on her just a bit.

"No… I know why you're upset…" Sapphire murmured, and she stood up straight then. Not before she felt something touch her rear and she heard more laughter erupt from the table. She tensed, turning around to look at them. It suddenly felt very cold. That was enough to attract the attention of most at that table, and some other people around them too.

"S-Sapphire?" Ruby asked, but was silenced by one of Sapphire's hands coming up to hold a finger at her, silently telling her _not now_.

"I don't appreciate what you're saying." Sapphire said, despite her voice still being calm, it held an icy air to it, literally. What she said just earned her more snickers; they weren't taking her seriously.

"Oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it, pretty girl?" One asked, leaning back in his seat.

Sapphire's lip twitched just slightly. "You don't want to know what I'll do. _So I suggest you_ _ **stop**_." She said, voice lowering.

It was silent, she thought they might have taken warning to her words this time, before one of the boys burst out laughing. "Hahaha! And why should we be threatened by you, prego?" He laughed, and Sapphire almost blushed, but did not. She did not say anything, and it appeared she may not answer at all, and she didn't. But in a flash, she had the teen pinned against the wall by his throat. She may have been weak compared to most of the other gems, but compared to humans, she was still a lot stronger.

Panic visibly flashed through the boy's face, and he struggled against her hold. Some of the other teens stood up now, looking conflicted. They wanted to help their friend, but they were also a bit scared of Sapphire now. Ruby was watching surprisedly from the table, but she made no efforts to stop or join her girlfriend. Sapphire opened her mouth, beginning to speak before staff rushed over to get her off of him.

"Ma'am! Ma'am unhand him or we'll have to call the police!" She heard, and before anyone could touch her she reluctantly let go of him. Her bangs were pushed aside slightly by her, to reveal the death glare she was giving him, before pushing them back over her eye. The waitress pulled her away from him, then, and she looked up at her. The woman definitely did not look happy. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She said sternly, lips pursed.

Sapphire only nodded, no longer looking angry. That was an understandable thing to ask, though if it were her way, she would have made the teens go. Sapphire walked over to Ruby, extending a hand to her. "Come on Ruby, let's go." She said, and Ruby, still looking a little shocked over what had happened, took her hand and stood up.

The two left with not a word spoken to each other, but Sapphire was beginning to feel rather guilty about ruining their date. She looked over at their hands, which were still clasped to each other, and then at Ruby's face.

"I'm sorry.." Sapphire said then, still looking over at her. She was blushing softly in embarrassment.

Ruby looked up and at Sapphire, blinking. "H-Huh? Why are you sorry?"

"Because I completely ruined our date…" She murmured, now looking down. Her voice wavered just slightly.

"Sapphire no, you didn't ruin it, they did, we wouldn't have had a good time if you hadn't done that, it was unpreventable…" Ruby tried, pausing in their walking now.

Sapphire stopped too, but didn't speak right away. "... I guess." She said. She still felt bad though. She saw this as a possibility… She should have done everything to avoid it, even if there were low chances of it happening.

Ruby pursed her lips and then frowned, reaching up to brush Sapphire's bangs out of her face. Sapphire was looking away, tears brimming in her eye. Before she knew it, she was caught in a hug by Ruby, blinking a few times, which caused the tears to fall. She hugged back gently, reaching up to wipe her face.

"C'mon, please don't feel bad over this Sapph… We can always go on another date, or even do something tonight..! And, besides… It was pretty hot seein' you get all mad and protective like that." Ruby admitted, grinning slightly up at her.

Sapphire blushed, looking away again. "Be quiet…" She said, but was not able to stop a smile from spreading across her lips.

"No! It's true!" Ruby laughed, and picked Sapphire up, spinning her around happily. She continued until she realized their gems were glowing, the threat of fusion happening, and reluctantly stopped. Sapphire was left giggling, reaching up to cover her mouth. Ruby smiled lovingly as she watched her, pulling Sapphire's hand away from her face to kiss her gently. Sapphire kissed back, practically melting into it, before Ruby pulled away. She was a tad disappointed.

"We should get back home…" Ruby said and smiled a bit, and Sapphire nodded.

"Right…"

"Want me to carry you?" Ruby offered, smirking some.

Sapphire blushed, "I can walk myself." She responded, starting to walk… But, fate just having to hate her, one of her heels was caught on a small hole, nearly making her topple over. Ruby was quick to catch her, bursting out laughing.

"Haha! Can you?" She grinned and tossed Sapphire up gently, catching her in her arms bridal style. Sapphire blushed, looking at Ruby.

"Hush…" She murmured and kissed Ruby's nose, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Just start walking."

Ruby chuckled but nodded, beginning to walk. "Yes ma'am~" She hummed, enjoying as Sapphire played with her hair.

After a bit, the two of them arrived back at the house, but Ruby paused at the door. Sapphire tilted her head a bit. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking at Ruby.

"Hm.. Are you ready to go in yet? Or do you wanna sit out here with me?"

"Sitting out here sounds nice… But only if we still get to change out of these dresses" Sapphire said smiling a bit.

Ruby chuckled and turned around, walking over to the sand. "Deal." She agreed, and now set Sapphire down. She wasted no time in phasing into her usual outfit, and Sapphire followed suit, except she did not phase on the poofy dress she usually wore. Instead she phased on a sweater and sweats. She had worn something similar to this occasionally. Steven had suggested that maybe that dress wasn't the most comfortable, and at first she did not think she would need to change out of her dress, but ended up trying it and he was right. This was a lot more comfortable than her dress.

Ruby sat on the shore, just far up enough that the waves would not get her. Sapphire took a seat next to her, sitting close to her. Ruby laid on her back and pulled Sapphire down with her, cuddling close to her.

"This is a lot nicer than some fancy restaurant…" Ruby murmured, looking up at Sapphire.

Sapphire nodded, "Yeah… Being with you is enough…" She smiled some.

Ruby smiled, too. "I love you.

"I love you too.."


	4. We'll Always Love You

Sapphire was due in a few weeks, and Steven was beginning to have his doubts about the babies. Sure, he was happy for Ruby and Sapphire and all… But were they, and everyone else, going to stop paying attention to him now? He understood the babies would need a lot of attention, but maybe they'd stop loving him too… He was seated on the couch, deep in thought about this. He had been thinking about it a lot, actually… He did not move an inch to acknowledge the two gems that came out of the temple; unsurprisingly, it was Ruby and Sapphire. Sapphire had been spending a lot more time in the temple recently, he had noticed. He thought she probably didn't feel totally good.

Ruby was first to notice Steven, and frowned seeing him look so… Sad. She walked over to him, Sapphire following behind. They sat on either side of him, and Ruby slung an arm around him. "Hey, what's wrong? You look like you're feeling down." She frowned.

Steven looked up at her when he was touched, but then looked back down at his lap when she finished speaking. He was hunched over with his cheeks in his hands, elbows on his knees. "... Nothin'..." He mumbled.

Ruby and Sapphire exchanged a wary glance, and now Sapphire urged on. She scooted a bit closer to him, wrapping an arm around him too. "Steven, you're making it quite obvious something is wrong. Please tell us?" She coaxed, and got a few inaudible grumbles from Steven before he started to comply,

"Fine…" He murmured, sitting up a little. He pursed his lips and then sighed, shoulders slumping as he exhaled. "I guess.. I'm just worried…" Before they could ask, he continued, "About, when the babies are born… Everyone's going to be focussed on _them_ and you'll have your _own_ kids then, so you won't even NEED me…" He explained, still avoiding eye contact. Before he knew it, he felt the two gems hugging onto him.

"Steven, we would never replace you." Sapphire spoke first. He could feel her bloated stomach pressed against him, and it just felt like that alone contradicted her words.

"Yeah, of course not, we love you… Don't you know that?" Ruby asked, frowning.

"Well… I guess… But I'm not _your_ kid…" He mumbled.

"So? We're still your guardians, and we love and care about you. I mean, we're not just going to forget about you… There's no way, even if we wanted to." Ruby smiled a bit, before panicking he would take her the wrong way. "A-And we don't want to! Definitely not."

Steven didn't respond, and he was hesitant to believe their words. "Yeah well… That's you talking, not Sapphire… She's the pregnant one, anyway… Maybe her opinion is different…"

Sapphire frowned, hugging him a bit tighter as she gently smoothed out his hair with her other hand. "Steven, I'm completely with Ruby… There's no doubt about it. Even if you're not our child, and I'm going to be having babies soon, we love you more than anything, and that's never going to change. You're just… Going to be a big brother now." She said, "And, of course we'll love the babies too, but you'll always be our favorite… Don't tell them that, though." She added, and smiled when she got a small smile out of Steven.

Steven finally sat up, and wrapped his arms around Ruby and Sapphire now, pulling them close. "Haha.. Alright, I'm sorry I was being so negative… I shouldn't have doubted you." He said, looking between the two of them as he spoke.

"Don't apologize, it's alright, that's an understandable thing to worry about. But you should know better from us!" Ruby said, smirking as she stood and smoothly hoisted both Steven and Sapphire up, still hugging them close.

Steven laughed a bit, squirming a bit in her hold. "Haha! Ruby, put me down!" He exclaimed, while Sapphire was giggling a bit.

Ruby did as he said, setting the both of them back down on the couch before she sat down too. "Alright, alright." She said, smiling widely. She really hated seeing the ones she loved unhappy, and was glad that now Steven and Sapphire were smiling. She plopped back down onto the couch with them, going back to being a bit more serious. "Was there anything else bothering ya?" She asked, wanting to try to take care of his problems sooner than later.

Steven thought about it a moment, before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so.. But Sapphire, when are you due, again?" He asked, looking up at Sapphire then.

"About 2 weeks." Sapphire said, subconsciously resting a hand over her stomach. Her gemmed hand, to be exact.

Steven nodded a bit, "Do you.. Know how many you're having?"

"I haven't looked to see. I want to be surprised." Sapphire replied, then eyed Ruby through her bangs. "Though _someone_ has been encouraging me to do otherwise." She said, smirking slightly.

Ruby huffed, crossing her arms dramatically. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said stubbornly, trying to hide a smile.

"Oh, sure." Sapphire responded, crossing her arms and mimicking Ruby's pose, which got a snort of laughter out of the other gem.

"Okay okay, you're right stop that." Ruby grinned.

Sapphire tilted her head up and away, hiding a smile still. "No." She defied, but then yelped in surprise when a pair of arms wove themselves around her torso. "Ruby, that's not fair…" She said, now smiling without containing it.

"How so?" Ruby asked, nuzzling her head into Sapphire's neck and kissing the skin gently, earning giggles from Sapphire.

Steven found himself looking away from the couple, blushing faintly. It was a little embarrassing. Okay, maybe more than a little… Oh well, it was better than everyone fighting, he supposed...


	5. It's A

/I'm sorry this chapter is really bad but thanks so much for the reviews/

Sapphire had the geodes about a month ago, and she and Ruby (probably everyone else, too) were getting very impatient for them to hatch. There were three of them, two larger ones with small red areas on them. They assumed these were Rubies. The third was a tad smaller than the other two, with small blue markings, which they assumed to be a Sapphire. Sapphire didn't leave the geodes alone even for a second after they were out, and she didn't let anyone near them either, only Ruby. Her maternal instincts were at their height at this point.

When she woke up the next morning, accidentally dozing off in the night (she had gotten used to the routine sleeping), she saw that one of the Rubies had a small crack in it. Her initial response was worry that it had been damaged, before realizing it was hatching as the crack grew. She gasped and sat up then, giving Ruby a rather harsh shove to wake her up as she had fallen asleep too. Ruby jolted up, panicked something had happened.

"What?! What's wrong?" She asked, looking on with wide eyes.

"One of the geodes is hatching!" Sapphire exclaimed, and Ruby gasped leaning over Sapphire's shoulder to watch too.

The geode slowly cracked open, finally open enough to reveal a little Ruby, whose eyes were still sealed shut. She stayed still for a moment after she cracked it open that much, before starting to squirm and whimper. Sapphire was frozen in shock that this was actually happening, and so was Ruby, because it took a small whine from the gemling to fully alert her to pick up the baby.

She carefully removed it from the opened geode, not caring that her hands became slick with the fluids that were still on the child. The small Ruby squirmed a bit more in her hands, before settling down partially pressed against Sapphire's gem. Her hair was messy yet also stuck to her head, and her small body felt hot to the touch. That was normal for a Ruby though.

Speaking of Rubies, the adult Ruby was leaning over Sapphire's shoulder still, eyes wide and happy tears pricked in them, which she quickly blinked and they dissipated into steam.

"She's tiny…" Sapphire broke the silence, one finger prodding at the little body. The Ruby huffed and squirmed, Sapphire was searching for her gem.

"Yeah… She's so cute, too..!" Ruby agreed and began to smile widely then, Sapphire giggled a bit finally finding her gem. It was on her left arm.

"Her gem's on her arm.. The left one." She said, raising the tiny gem's arm to show Ruby. "Can you get me a wet rag or something..? I want to clean her off…" She asked, not moving her eye from the baby.

Ruby nodded, hopping up. "Yeah! Yeah I'll get that." She said and ran to the kitchen to get what she wanted. Unfortunately her loud voice scared the gemling, who began to whimper and whine then.

Sapphire frowned as she tried to comfort the baby Ruby, rubbing her cheek gently and cooing softly to her. "Hey hey you're okay.. You're okay baby, nothing's gonna hurt you…" She murmured, getting Ruby to quiet down just as the other Ruby returned with the wet rag, and a bowl of water just in case.

Sapphire thanked her as she took the rag, then paused. "Do you want to do it?" She asked then, and Ruby was quick to shake her head.

"No, no, I-I'll end up hurtin' her, she's too little, I'll be too rough or something…" Ruby said, looking away as she rambled. She really did want to hold the baby, but she was just so scared she would crush her or something.

The blue gem frowned but decided not to press on for now, she could try later. "Alright…" She murmured and started to gently wipe Ruby down, the gemling squirming and whining at the touches of the unknown material. Sapphire paused then, not wanting her to freak out. "It's alright Ruby, it's just a rag…" She murmured and gently touched her chest with it, Ruby's small hands gripping to the fabric of the rag and pulling on it lightly.

Finally the gemling let her continue to wash her off, squirming a bit when Sapphire got places which seemed to be sensitive (she noted her sides and underarms made her squirm the most, she thought she was probably ticklish there), whining and huffing as her mother continued but for the most part didn't complain. Sapphire gave her a last wash by wetting the rag more and drenching her in it except for her face, making sure everything was off. She knew Ruby wouldn't like being actually submerged, this was better. She could tell by her future vision. The gemling did squirm and whine when she wrapped the hand towel around her fully, but not too much. Sapphire soon finished and put the rag in the water, looking back at Ruby.

"Can you put this back for me or something?" She asked, handing the bowl to her.

Ruby nodded and took it, going off to the kitchen again.

Sapphire redirected her attention to the baby gem, "Maybe get me a dry washrag?" She asked, glancing up from her. Ruby hummed in acknowledgement and came back with just that, handing the rag to her.

Sapphire took it and smiled at her, before starting to dry the Ruby off. She squeaked, apparently not expecting the contact. When Sapphire dried her hair off, it poofed up greatly, which made Sapphire giggle and Ruby chuckle a bit too. The baby didn't understand. Sapphire continued to dry her off before setting the rag down and holding the gemling close to her, Ruby finally sitting back down next to her.

The gemling looked tired, now, even if it was a bit hard to tell with her eyes shut anyway, but her head lulled back slightly, mouth left open, and Sapphire wondered if she was already asleep. The blue gem moved slightly, trying to get more comfortable herself, but apparently this was too disturbing to the half asleep gem who immediately began to wail when she was moved. Sapphire frowned and held her up closer to her face.

"Hey, hey calm down, it's okay I'm right here…" She tried soothingly talking to her again, but the baby wasn't having it. Sapphire looked to Ruby, then. "Ruby… Would you try holding her?" She asked as the smaller Ruby continued to wail, fussing about. She couldn't blame her for being so tired and cranky, though, even if it hadn't been very long at all.

Ruby blinked and frowned, looking at the baby. "S-Sapph I might hurt her, I.. I can't, you know that.."

"No, I know that you won't hurt her, please Ruby?" She frowned, and Ruby frowned as well looking between her partner and their child.

Ruby grumbled and finally gave in after a few moments of Sapphire's pitiful stare, reaching her hands out. "I don't even know how to hold her…" She mumbled and huffed, cupping her hands as Sapphire gently placed the Ruby into her hands.

Almost instantly the baby stopped crying.

Sapphire's quiet giggle broke the silence first, "Looks like both my babies stopped whining~" She teased, as Ruby had gone silent as soon as the other Ruby had done so. She was quite surprised that she got quiet so fast. Sapphire wrapped her arms around Ruby's midsection, laying her head on her shoulder.

Ruby huffed softly, "Shut up…" She grumbled and looked down at the smaller Ruby, before smiling softly again. "I think she fell asleep... " She murmured, and Sapphire nodded. "Hey um… How do we get clothes on her?" She asked looking up at Sapphire then.

Sapphire blinked, and she frowned slightly. "I don't know… She's too young to know how to make her own clothes… I think, I remember how to transfer energy, but… She's so content in your hands, I don't wanna wake her up." She said and began to smile just a bit.

Ruby glanced up at her before looking back down at Ruby, "Yeah… I guess leaving her bare while she sleeps won't hurt." She said and released a soft sigh, smiling again though as she cuddled against Sapphire, making sure not to disturb the gemling like Sapphire had...


	6. Auntie Pearl

It had been about a month since the three geodes had hatched, their guesses being correct, they had two Rubies and a Blue Sapphire. Though the Sapphire had the smallest geode, she was actually the biggest of the three even if it wasn't by much. Her Gem was located on her chest. Out of the two Rubies, one of them was obviously a runt, and she was paler than her sister as well. Her Gem was located on her right hand, and her sister's was located on her left arm. They had decided that things would get confusing having now three Rubies and two Sapphires around, so Steven suggested that they give the gemlings nicknames. They agreed that was a good idea, so with his help the Gemlings now went by Scarlet, Cherry and Icing. The runt's name was Cherry, the other Ruby's being Scarlet and of course the Sapphire being Icing. Sapphire had thought it was cute, like icing on a cupcake.

The Gemlings were very active for their young age, and had been since they hatched. The trio were quite the handful, always managing to get away when their parents (or whoever happened to be watching them) were not paying attention. They were all very healthy, too, even the runt which they had been worried about. Ruby and Sapphire got tired easily from taking care of them though, so sometimes they had one or more of the other gems watch the babies for a bit. Now was one of those times.

Currently, Pearl was sitting on the couch, reading something. Amethyst was in her room most likely and Steven was with Connie, out, and Ruby and Sapphire had just gone out. The pale gem's eyes shifted to the words of the book to the table in front of her, hearing a little noise of a Gemling awakening. They were each in three separate little beds asleep, at least until the one woke up. It was the runt, Cherry. Pearl set her book down, gently picking up the Gemling who squirmed a little before relaxing again. Her brown eyes peered up at her 'aunt', before stubby little arms reached up at her. Pearl smiled some at the baby, lifting her up a bit to be closer to her face. She was greeted with a tiny Gemmed hand on her nose.

"Hi baby.. Are you hungry, hm?" She spoke to her, getting a squeak in response as her nose was pulled. She had gotten rather good with the Gemlings, if she did say so herself. Pearl took the squeak for a yes even though she knew the little gem had no clue what she was talking about. She stood up, going to the fridge. Gemlings' gems were not powerful enough to fully support their forms when they are young, so they have to eat and sleep like organic beings to gain strength. Pearl pulled a bottle from the fridge, filled with milk courtesy of Sapphire. She put it in the microwave, heating it up more than a human infant would take it. She was a Ruby after all, it didn't necessarily have to be heated up more but that's what they had decided she and Scarlet liked. Pearl made sure the milk wasn't too hot, before putting it to Cherry's lips as she started walking back to the couch. She sat down, the Gemling beginning to drink.

Pearl leaned forward a little to look at the other two Gemlings. Icing was awake, her deep blue eye wide and staring straight up at Pearl. She seemed to be content laying in the nest of blankets, though now that she knew she had the adult Gem's attention, she started to whine raising her arms up and waving them looking rather distressed.

Pearl frowned, shifting Cherry so that one of her hands was free. She reached into the little bed and gently picked Icing up, she could feel that she needed a diaper change when she did so. She grimaced; she really hated diaper changing. Maybe she could get Amethyst to do it… She sighed and tried to keep Icing from being too upset while she fed Cherry, she couldn't exactly do both at the same time. Luckily while Cherry was finishing drinking her milk, Icing didn't do much more than squirm and whine. Pearl gently set Icing back into her bed, lifting Cherry up on her shoulder to gently burp her. She summoned a rag from her Gem, placing it on her shoulder first of course. She pat the Gemling's back gently, and she was glad that she had the rag as Cherry spit up a bit but not much. After that was done, she set her down in her bed and folded the rag so that the spit up was in the center, concealed. Just as she was doing this Icing was starting to sound like she was going to cry.

Pearl was quick to pick her up, comforting her so that she did not cry, not wanting her to wake her other sister who was still asleep. "Okay, okay.." She soothed, sighing as she went to deal with her diaper to hopefully stop her whimpers and whines. Lucky for her she only found quite a bit of urine, rather than the other distasteful thing it could have been. Lifting the tiny Gem up once she had finished that, she gave a smile to the little Sapphire.

"All better!" She cooed in a light voice, going to set her back down in her bed before returning to the kitchen to wash her hands thoroughly. Quickly, she returned to the Gemlings, seating herself on the couch. Looking to Scarlet, she saw the Ruby was still sound asleep. She wondered how long that would be for… Pale eyes shifting back to the other two, they both looked restless now wanting attention. Pearl scooped the duo up, bouncing them a bit which erupted in a few giggles.

"Alright you two, since you're up now, what do you want to do?" She spoke, mindful of her volume due to the other sleeping Gem, though. She got more babbling in response, and couldn't help a small smile that formed. They were just so precious… "Maybe when your sister wakes up, we'll go to the beach." She suggested, even though she knew they couldn't know exactly what she said. They could only register a few keywords so far, but not yet speak them. They did start to get excited at the word 'beach', though, definitely knowing that one. They enjoyed playing in the sand very much.

"Bababa!" More jumbled sounds came from them, and she wasn't sure which one was being louder at this point.

"Okay, okay, shhh." She tried, stroking both of their heads, which were full of hair. She looked back to the third Gem, to see she was beginning to move and whine. No sense in keeping the other two quiet, now. She carefully placed the other two into her lap, reaching over to pick up Scarlet. The Ruby huffed and whined as she was picked up from her cozy bed, blinking her eyes open to look up at the pale Gem. She didn't look very happy to have been moved, which made Pearl chuckle.

"What's a matter grumpy pants?" Pearl teased her, poking her belly lightly in a tickle, which got a few giggles out of her. She was trying so hard to stay upset though, kicking her chubby legs at her current caregiver. Ultimately the tickling won, as she started to laugh a cute little laugh. Pearl smiled at this before stopping, having mercy on her. Icing and Cherry were both curiously watching as their sister was tickled, quiet.

"Are you hungry? You didn't drink before your nap, neither did Cherry and she was hungry when she woke up." She needlessly asked, only getting a chirp out of Scarlet. Though, her body answered for her as her stomach rumbled softly. "I'll take that as a yes." She spoke, moving the other two now onto the couch, as she stood to go get a bottle for her.

The Ruby was quiet in Pearl's arm as she opened the fridge and repeated the process she'd done earlier of heating up the milk. Putting it to Scarlet's mouth she walked back to the couch, making sure she did not sit on the other two as she lowered herself onto the couch.

Scarlet was reluctant at first, before giving in and suckling on the nipple of the bottle. Pearl held her while she drank, occasionally having to stop Icing or Cherry from wandering off or falling off the couch completely, usually it was Cherry. Icing was never THAT big of a troublemaker, but she too had her moments.

Soon enough, Scarlet had finished up her bottle and Pearl went to burp her as she had Cherry. Using a rag this time, too. Once that was done, she set her on the couch with her sisters and went to quickly grab a thin blanket and an umbrella. With these items under one arm, she took their carrier basket, placing the trio inside as she scooped it up. Peeps of complaint sounded, which simply made Pearl chuckle. As she started to the door to go outside, she stopped hearing the Temple door open, turning her head she blinked at Amethyst, before offering,

"Would you like to go to the beach with us?"


	7. Beach Day

Amethyst scanned her eyes over Pearl at the question, looking over the loot the pale Gem held. Contemplating this, she nodded and a small smile tugged at her lips. "Sure." She agreed, walking over. "I didn't realize Ruby and Sapphire left… I woulda come out to help if you told me. Need help carrying anything?" She asked, holding a hand out to offer for Pearl to let her carry something.  
Pearl smiled slightly as well, shaking her head. "Oh, no, I've got it. And the Gemlings were napping, so I didn't need help, but thank you." She turned to the door, then, casting a glance back at Amethyst. "Would you mind getting the door for me?"  
Nodding, Amethyst moved forward push and hold open the door for Pearl, who quickly walked out mustering a thank you to the shorter Gem, who followed her out.

Pearl lead them outside, walking close to the shore. She set the basket of Gemlings down, then laid the blanket out across the hot sand, mainly to prevent any injuries or uncomfortableness from said sand to the Gemlings. She then stuck the umbrella into the sand, making sure it was sturdy before she sat down and took the trio from their carrier. Amethyst approached, sitting beside her on the blanket.  
Scarlett squirmed to roll onto her back since she had been laid on her belly originally, blinking as she looked around, up at the bright sky. She squinted a bit, but her eyes soon adjusted. Cherry was heading for the sand, wanting to go explore. She was quite the adventurous little thing. Which, Pearl kept a close eye on her but didn't stop her- yet. Icing was laying on the blanket, content with staying under the umbrella. She was not much a fan of the heat, typical for a Sapphire.  
"Hey, want me to take Icing to the water?" Amethyst offered, leaning back as she looked from Pearl to Icing, who was cuddled against the slim Gem's leg.  
"Oh… Sure, if you don't mind. Thank you, Amethyst." Pearl smiled, carefully scooping the little Gemling into her hands to hand her over to Amethyst.  
The Sapphire looked up at Amethyst as she was passed to her, blinking up at her. Amethyst tickled her belly, making her giggle. The purple Gem smiled and stood, carrying her off to the water. She didn't mind getting wet as she walked in to her waist, lowering Icing so she was partially submerged, careful not to get her face under. It was difficult with how small the Gemlings still were, though they were quickly growing. Icing smiled now at the cool water, more small giggles coming from her as she hit her hands against the water, which was beginning to freeze over around her. In turn, Amethyst moved her to a different spot so she wouldn't be frozen in place, ending up spinning her around which made Icing laugh.  
Pearl smiled as she watched the two, watching a bit too long because when she looked back, Cherry was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose in her chest and she got up (careful to not harm Scarlett who was still laying there), eyes darting around as she searched for Cherry.  
"Cherry? Cherry!" She called, hoping for the little Gemling to respond, as they knew their names for they'd responded to such before. Hearing a faint squeak, her panic subsided slightly, and she looked around slowly now. "Cherry?" She asked again, and again a little squeak sounded. But… She didn't see anything. Frowning as she looked around, her eye caught sight of the sand moving a bit. Blinking, Pearl walked over and crouched down, moving the sand to see the runt had covered herself in it.

She blinked, then laughed a bit. "I should have guessed YOU would do something like this." Pearl said as she lifted her from the sand, carefully dusting her off, and Cherry sneezed as some sand had tickled her nose.  
The grown Gem chuckled and shook her head, walking back to the blanket, setting her by her sister now.

They were out there for quite awhile, playing and having fun, until the sun was going down and the Gemlings were getting tired. Just as they were heading back in, Pearl carrying the umbrella and blanket and Amethyst carrying the Gemlings in their carrier, they heard the warp pad activate. As they walked in, they saw it was Ruby and Sapphire who had just come back home. The two smiling, joyful as they had gotten to go off by themselves after a while of not getting to.  
"Did you guys have fun?" Sapphire asked, seeing how sleepy the Gemlings looked.  
"Sure looks like it." Ruby said chuckling as she walked over to steal the babies from Amethyst, who didn't mind.  
"We were outside most of the day. But don't worry, they're not sunburnt, I remembered to put sunscreen on them." Pearl said with a smile, and Amethyst snickered.  
"Because I reminded you to." She said, making Pearl pout a bit now. It was true, though.  
"We trust you two wouldn't let them get hurt." Sapphire said truthfully to prevent them arguing, smiling some she added, "Thank you for watching them."  
"Oh, it was no problem. I hope you two had a good time?" Pearl asked.  
"Of course we did." She smiled, and went with Ruby to lay the Gemlings down, while Pearl went to put away the umbrella and blanket.

Later, Steven got home and the little family spoke of the day they each had after getting Steven dinner, while Scarlett, Cherry, and Icing remained asleep. It was nice to have 'day off' once in awhile.


End file.
